She gave him a suspicious look, but when she tugged on it again, he let it go. “I—ah, thank you. I wish you a pleasant evening, my lord.”
Finn hadn’t moved out of her way, and now he braced his hands against the bookshelf on either side of her shoulders, looked down at her and slowly shook his head. “No, Miss Somerset. Read ithere. Now.”
“Here? But—”
“Yes, right here. To me.”
She blinked down at the book in her hands, then back up at him, and color swept from her bosom to her neck in a heated rush.
“You look warm, Miss Somerset. Whatever is the matter? You did say you weren’t ashamed of reading it, and why should you be? I’ve readSchool of Venus, you see. It was some time ago, but I remember it clearly enough.”
He moved closer and let his body brush against hers. “As you said, there’s nothing shameful in it. It’s just a forthright discussion of what happens between lovers, though without the cravats, of course.” Finn dipped his head toward her neck to breathe in her scent before he pressed his lips to her ear. “It’s quite detailed, if I recall, and contains some rather provocative drawings. Shall we look at those together?”
She’d refuse, of course, and once she did, he’d take the book away.
There was a brief, charged silence, but then Miss Somerset cleared her throat. “Very well, my lord.” She flipped through the pages, then stopped and looked up at him, her gaze fierce with challenge. “Shall I start where I left off when you came in?”
Finn went still with shock—everything but his stomach, which leapt with a confusing mix of anger and anticipation.
“My lord?”
He didn’t answer, but stared down at her, into that delicate face, at the sweet curve of her mouth, and wondered how he could ever have imagined she wasn’t anything more than she appeared to be, as if her story began and ended with her face.
She waited, but he remained silent, and after a moment, she bent her head and began to read.
“Hadn’t we better enjoy our pleasures? Truly I did not care how soon I parted with my maidenhead, and nobody be the wiser, which I believe may easily be done, if according to your advice some young fellow be employed in management of the secret affair?”
She paused and raised her eyes to his, but whatever she saw in his face made her gaze dart back to the book spread open in her hands. But when she began to speak again, her voice was different—lower, huskier, with a note of breathlessness.
“You cannot imagine the satisfaction you will take, when once you have gotten a friend fitted for your purpose, you may carry on your designs and order private meetings with your friend, who will secretly give you all of pleasure imaginable.”
Finn remained frozen, listening to her, his skin burning, his muscles tensing and releasing as her soft voice rolled over him.
“To pass away the time till he comes, pray tell me what your Husband does to you when he lies with you, for I would not willingly altogether appear novice, when I shall arrive to that secret happiness—”
“Enough.” He was shocked to hear the rough rasp of his own voice, but it didn’t matter—nothing mattered but making her stop. She had to stop, or he’d touch her—
“I will briefly tell you all, first, he comes up a private pair of stairs, when all the household is in bed…”
Finn couldn’t take his eyes off her. His lips parted when her breathing began to quicken, and her color deepened and rose higher in her cheeks.
“…he finds me sometimes asleep and sometimes awake, to lose no time he undresses himself, comes and lies down by me, when he begins to warm he lays his hands on my—”
“Damn you, I said stop!” He tore the book from her hands and threw it aside.
There was a long, tense pause, then she said, “Isn’t that what you wanted, my lord?” Her voice was quiet. “For me to read to you?”
Christ, was he shaking? “I didn’t think—” Finn grabbed the back of his neck, dug his fingernails into the hot skin there, his gaze on the floor.
I didn’t think you’d do it.
Now she had, he’d forever have those words, in her soft, breathless voice, whispering inside his head.
“You thought to teach me a lesson.” She gave an awkward little laugh. “Well, it was a good deal more interesting than the pianoforte lessons, at least. But allow me to ease your mind, Lord Huntington. Lord Wrexley didn’t recommend the book. He has nothing to do with this.”
Finn dragged both hands down his face. “If not him, then who? Please tell me the truth. I can’t be easy until I know you understand it’s not safe for you to trifle in this way with a man like Wrexley.”
Her face softened. “Lady Tallant. She and I have struck up a…friendship of sorts.”
